Scenes in Between
by pendragon94
Summary: This is in Toothless's point of view, and follows what happened after the defeat of the Red Death and before Hiccup wakes up in his house, as Toothless waits for him. Mentions of different characters and happenings in the television series that followed the movie, but you don't have to have watched the series to understand this.


I grabbed him with my paws, and curled myself entirely around him. When we hit the ground, I heard the sickening snap of a limb, and hoped it wasn't his. The feeling in my body had been gone for several seconds by then, and I hoped it was myself. I was unsure what I'd do if he had been hurt, and I didn't know what the extent of his injuries might have been from colliding with the stony tail of the Red Death.

Nothing felt broken on myself, and I realized in dismay that it must have been one of his limbs. We roll several times before I come to rest on a stony slab. I held him to myself, not letting him be exposed to the toxic air of the burning dragon, and as the smoke cleared I heard my friend's father calling out to him. With all my hope, I wish that my friend will be okay. When he finds us, he stops and is uncertain for a moment. He comes closer, and I listen in amazement as he admits to his wrong doings. In that moment I realize that he cares for his son more than I ever could have imagined. Then he says he's sorry, and that's all I need to hear.

Twisting myself to a different angle, I reveal the small human in my grip, and the Viking chief is speechless. He takes the boy away from me, but I am alright with it. My body is completely drained, and I can feel myself losing the battle with exhaustion. He thanks me as I relax into the ground, and after the cheers of the tribe die away, I allow myself to sleep.

Less than an hour later I wake up to a flurry of activity, and find Stoic commanding the groups of Vikings as they repair enough ships to make the journey home. I track Hiccup to a small thrown-together tent, where an elderly woman is watching over him. His leg is bandaged, and I can see that the majority of it is gone. Pain attacks my heart at the thought that it is my fault, and I look up at the old woman. She isn't fearful of my presence, and I wonder who she is. I listen to the strongly thudding heart of my human for a moment, before positioning myself in front of the entrance, and stand guard. Stoic looks at me many times as I watch him in action, and at times I think he is proud to have me there. After watching him more closely, I can see why he is chief. He works the men and women in shifts, allowing tired groups to rest before they hurt themselves, and calling in fresh hands when it's necessary. It takes over half of a day before seven boats are ready to go, and everyone starts to pack themselves inside. It's a tight squeeze for six of the vessels, but the last one which just so happens to be the least damaged is mainly reserved for Stoic, and the injured.

It surprises me to see the small number of hurt Vikings, but I don't dwell on it. They come with a stretcher for Hiccup to lie on, and he is carried onto the boat. I follow close behind Stoic and Gobber as they carry him, and no one protests. The boats start their navigation out of the crops of rocks among the water.

When we clear the fog, it is a sunny and clear day, and I hear Stoic whisper a thanks to his gods.

The ships sail in skilled formation and we reach the island by nightfall. Hiccup and I are the last ones off the boats, and word has already spread through the Vikings that had remained at home. They stand outside of their houses and watch as Stoic and Gobber carry Hiccup through the entire village. I am certain that more stairs are on me than anyone else.

When one villager tries to approach me, I growl on instinct, and he backs away at Stoic's command. None try to get close again, and we reach the chief's house quickly. They lay Hiccup carefully by the fire, before carrying his bed downstairs, and putting him into it.

I roost in the strong beams above him, watching carefully. At some point I fall asleep, and don't wake up until the next morning. My body aches, but I can feel that nothing is broken, and I stretch carefully on my perch. Looking down, I see that Hiccup hasn't moved at all, and Stoic enters the room several minutes later. He checks to make sure Hiccup is alive, and breathes a sigh of relief as he looks up at me. "He made it through the night…I'll think he'll be okay."

I nod, and he seems to be wondering if I actually understand what he is saying, before he out the front door. Thinking back, I realize that I haven't eaten for a couple of days, but it doesn't bother me. I'm not used to eating without Hiccup doing the same.

I can't see the sun from where I am, but I think it's mid-day when the blond girl comes to visit. When I see her, I come down from the perch, and position myself next to the bed.

She has a basket on her back, and I smell the fish inside. My stomach grumbles without my consent.

With a laugh, she puts it down in front of me, and I eat quickly.

"You care about him a lot." She says, and pats me on the head, before leaving the house.

When she's gone, I find myself missing her presence. From my own instinct, I can tell that Hiccup liked her, and after seeing her in battle I decided that she would in fact make a suitable mate for him.

Thoughts of him having children leave me wondering about myself, and the future of my breed. It's been so many years since I've seen another of my own kind that I wonder if they even exist anymore. Perhaps I am the last.

In that moment, I envision the future, and I cannot imagine it without Hiccup being there.

I make a vow to myself in that moment that I will not abandon him, no matter how hard things may get.

I'm quiet in my mind for several hours after that, when Gobber arrives with a large bundle in his arms.

He seems unsure about me, until I give him the sort-of smile that I had once given to Hiccup, and he just nods his approval. "This won't hurt him a bit." He assures me, and I move to the other side of the bed. He removes the blanket carefully, and cuts away the old bandages on his leg. The stump there is gnarled, and has only just starting to properly heal.

While I watch, Gobber takes measurements of what's left of the limb, and starts placing different sized metal rings around it until one fits properly. After rechecking some of the measurements, he gives me another nod before leaving. Hiccup hasn't moved, despite the man touching his leg, and I start to worry.

My small human does not wake up that night, the small amount of worry from the previous day has grown, and I don't sleep at all. Stoic looks at me with worry, before telling me not to worry, and leaving the house at the same time as the previous day.

Astrid returns at the same time as before, with a new basket of fish. She stays for a long time, sitting silently next to me by the bed. When Stoic suddenly returns and comes in for a bite to eat, she makes an excuse and takes her baskets as she leaves. As soon as she's gone, he looks at me and smiles. "She's more worried than she'll admit, but she knows that he'll be okay. I hope you do too, because he _will _be okay." He turns away, and I barely hear him whisper. "He has to be."

After eating an entire loaf of bread, he polishes his helmet for a moment, and starts to leave but stops at the door. "Before nightfall, I will allow some of the other villagers to come in and see him, so don't be surprised." I just stare at him as he gets a large bowl, fills it with water and puts it in front of me before finally leaving.

It's just after dinnertime for the humans, when Stoic comes in to stand on the other side of Hiccup's bed, and people start to file in. Many of them bring gifts of food and clothing for both of them, and I ignore them as they put their gifts at the foot of the bed and say several words to Stoic before walking out.

A woman comes in, with the first small child that I've seen since being in the village. On the lowest beam of the ceiling, I am easily visible, and she puts the child on the ground and ignores me as she starts talking to Stoic. My tails hangs almost all the way to the floor, and when I feel a slight tug, I look down to see the child pulling the end of it. I swing it in a small circle when he lets go, and am amused when he chases it mindlessly. After a few minutes I move to the other side of the bed from the adults, and the mother watches me mindlessly until I settle on the floor. I guess that the kid is only four or five human years old, and when he stumbles up to me, the mother is suddenly frightened. But before she can come around the bed and grab the little one, he climbs onto my head, and I let him sit there. She looks stunned when the child suddenly lurches to one side and I catch him carefully with my wing. He rolls down the barely-open span of it, and lands harmlessly on his back on the floor. In less than a second, the child is laughing loudly saying, "Fun dragon! Fun dragon!"

When he attempts to climb back onto my head, his mother pulls him off, and I stare up at her. She smiles down at me kindly, and then turns to leave, and from the corner of my eye I see Stoic staring at me proudly.

The humans continue to come in, and I even interact with a few. One of the twin teenagers, the female, brings in food for Stoic that she says is from her mother who is too ill to attend the visit. She is just about to leave when she suddenly pulls a large fish from a bag over her shoulder, and approaches me to drop it. I accept it from the floor where it lands, and she pats my head cautiously before leaving.

One of the last people to visit is the only one who angers Stoic as well as myself. As soon as the old man walks in the doorway and sees me on the floor, he flies into a rage. "That beast is the cause of all of this! It's a menace, and shouldn't be here!" He leans out the door and starts to talk to the other people that I assume are there. "Let's get this monster out of here, and never allow it back!" No one listens to him as he tries to persuade them to help him throw me out, and it goes on for several seconds, before Stoic steps in. He takes the old man outside by the arm, and I walk to the doorway as he starts to address everyone standing there. "We have had a lot of problems with this dragon in the past. He is the only Nightfury around, and has destroyed things countless times. But just days ago he saved most of the people in this village, and together he and my son Hiccup defeated the Red Death, and made peace with the dragons. We should not be trying to get rid of him…we should be praising him! Who's with me?!" All of the Vikings present cheered, except for the old man, and when everyone had calmed down, Stoic returned to the inside of the house.

Not many more people came in after that, and the few who did made sure to thank me for all that I had done. I took the praise, and when Stoic closed up the house for the night, I finally slept.

Over the next several days, I continue to wait for my friend to wake up. Astrid continues to bring me food every day, and Gobber has fastened a fake leg to Hiccup, made of different metal pieces and springs. I don't like the leg very much; until I realize that it makes Hiccup just like myself. We are both broken, with new pieces added, and suddenly I don't mind the thing anymore.

Countless people have started to bring dragons into the village, and everyone is getting along well. The twins, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Astrid are considering opening a dragon training school, and I wonder if it would work out. Perhaps Hiccup could be a part of it. They all come by several times, even Snotlout stops by for a few seconds once and they talk about having Gobber smith me a new tail. Astrid finds the pictures of my tail that Hiccup always used a model, and takes them to Gobber to see what he can do.

Through all of this, I never leave Hiccup's side for more than a split second, and keep waiting with hope. It's when the week comes to an end and another begins, that I start to truly worry.

I wonder if he will stay this way forever, and what Stoic will do about it. With no Hiccup, I don't see myself ever flying again, since I am loathe to have anyone else be my partner. Even Astrid would never make a suitable replacement. She has her Deadly Nadder, and has started calling her Stormfly, which I think is fine name. The dragon doesn't speak often to the others, but will say a few passing words through the door when Astrid comes to visit.

Nobody tries to remove me from the house, except for the old man who won't stop trying to convince the villagers to turn on their dragons. But nobody listens to him.

So I continue to wait, after all it's all I can do.

When I wake the next day, I sense something is different than before, but nothing seems out of place. I study the room that I have grown familiar with, and don't find anything amiss. Then I listen to the space around me, and I realize what has changed. I look at Hiccup, and my ears confirm that his heart has in fact started to beat slightly faster. I see one of his hands twitch, and I stare in anticipation.

My entire body freezes when he opens his eyes, before I jump down to greet him back into the world of the living.


End file.
